PHOTO: Joanna Adams
Reflections & Strings (EP) - Trevour Amunga (Hiphop) Trevour Amunga’s 5 track EP is a collection of avant garde hiphop that will consistently keep a listener guessing with its myriad references, styles and sonic landscapes. The most engaging part of this EP is how often it is willing to take risks. Especially in the first 3 tracks, Trevour Amunga refuses to marry himself to a particular beat and sound, shifting 180 degrees into new territories within songs, sometimes more than once. It makes for an extremely engaging listening experience, and one packed with so much that it certainly takes several listens to fully uncover all the gems sprinkled throughout.
When it comes to Trevour’s vocals, we get a blend of Plies and Lil Wayne in terms of tonality and delivery, and an overall call to 00s hiphop. He’s a fan of the distortion effect, utilized best in his closing track Chains, which as we describe below, is our favorite of the collection. The vocal performance is incredibly passionate and Trevour does not hesitate to entirely throw himself into his songs, implying a freedom and vulnerability that helps him step above his peers.
In an exercise of cleverness, it feels as if Trevour is consciously trying to trick his listeners by starting off his tracks with a red herring. Songs often start in one sonic soundscape before completely barrelling into something entirely different. More than flirting with the abstract, it gives the EP an almost dangerous quality, constantly keeping the listener on their toes. In a nod to retro hiphop, some of the tracks employ the nearly abandoned fadeout, while others simply cut off without warning.
As to the sound, the most cohesive element are the heavily verbed, warbling and EQ muted synths, guitars and pads that lay beneath varied percussion choices throughout. That and the aforementioned vocal distortion provide a consistency that is otherwise contrasted with the unique sounds of each track. Our favorite realm is certainly the retro R&B twinkling rhodes of Stargirl 94, which we think is the most radio friendly track, sticking to one sound and a more classic song structure from start to finish. But overall, even with the varying styles, each track boasts a luscious production, giving Trevour a unique and distinctive sound all his own.
86 Porsche, which gives us the most Plies, feels like a cousin of Bust It Baby at times, and reminds us of the way 00s hiphop would often sample synth loops from 80s R&B. Home, on the other hand, feels like it might belong on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy with the vocal effects. Uniquely, this song actually explores 3 different sounds within it, our favorite being the final segment featuring late 90s percussion hits and a beautiful spanish guitar.
Magic lives up to its name by beginning with a trance-like incantation, casting a spell on the listener with a more spoken word performance before switching it up. There’s a Kendrick flare to the vocals at first, but after the change in landscape we heard Outkast’s Bombs Over Baghdad, which was a very pleasant surprise.
But above all, Chains is the standout track. The finale of the EP, the track contains lyrics that contemplate uniquely African American life experiences and are delivered with the most impressive vocal performance of the entire album. It’s anthemic, passionate and incredibly interesting. If Stargirl 94 is the radio track, Chains is the one to submit for awards.
We hope you’ll introduce yourself to the depth that is Trevour Amunga, who we expect still has much more to say and show, which we look forward to.